NRA University

NRA

UNIVERSITY

ARM YOURSELF WITH THE FACTS www.nraila.org/NRAU www.facebook.com/NraUniversity NRA UNIVERSITY IS A PROGRAM OF NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION INSTITUTE FOR LEGISLATIVE ACTION

ARMING U WITH HISTORY

NRA HISTORY - Founded in 1871

The NRA was founded in 1871 by retired Union Army officers Col. William C. Church and Gen. George Wingate, to improve marksmanship among military reservists through a regimen of target shooting competition. In the interest of national defense preparedness, the NRA encouraged the expansion of its concept to civilians and, in 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt, an NRA member, signed into law legislation that established the National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice and the annual National Rifle Matches.

NRA-INSTITUTE FOR LEGISLATIVE ACTION The Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the lobbying arm of the NRA. Established in 1975, ILA is committed to preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals to purchase, possess and use firearms for defensive and other legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

While NRA is a single-issue organization, ILA is involved in any issue that directly or indirectly affects firearms ownership and use. These involve such topics as hunting and access to hunting lands, wilderness and wildlife conservation, civilian marksmanship training and ranges for public use, law enforcement-related issues, product liability, trapping, crime victim rights and criminal justice reform.

NRA POLITICAL VICTORY FUND The NRA Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) is NRA’s political action committee. The NRA-PVF ranks political candidates - irrespective of party affiliation - based on voting records, public statements and their responses to an NRA-PVF questionnaire.

NRA relies on a very simple premise: when provided with the facts, the nation’s elected officials will recognize that “gun control” schemes are an infringement on the Second Amendment and a proven failure in fighting crime. The importance of this premise lies in the knowledge that, as one U.S. Congressman put it: “The gun lobby is people.”

CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY A well regulated essary militia being nec a free to the security of f the state, the right o d bear people to keep an e Arms shall not b infringed.

The right to arms derives from the right to defend life and liberty. Arguing for a guarantee of the right to arms in the Constitution, Patrick Henry urged Americans to “Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect anyone who approaches that jewel.” In words that are as relevant to today’s gun control debate as they were at the time of our nation’s founding, Henry objected to Americans being “brought to such a humiliating and debasing degradation that we cannot be trusted with arms for our self-defense.” He instead advocated “that every man be armed.” Here are some additional quotes from our Founders:

“No free man shall be debarred the use of arms.” ~ Thomas Jefferson “The great object is that every man be armed.” ~ Patrick Henry “To preserve liberty it is essential that the whole body of people always possess arms.” ~Richard Henry Lee “Arms discourage and keep the invader and the plunderer in awe.”~Thomas Paine

THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES AGREES U.S. v. Miller (1939)

In this case, centered on the possession of a short-barreled shotgun, the Court suggested that the Second Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms that have a “relationship to the preservation or efficiency of a well regulated militia,” that are “part of the ordinary military equipment,” and the use of which “could contribute to the common defense.”

District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)

The Supreme Court ruled that “the inherent right of self-defense has been central to the Second Amendment right,” and that the Second Amendment protects a pre-existing individual right to keep and bear arms, without regard to a person’s relationship to a militia, including “the individual right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation. Dismissing

as “frivolous” the idea that only 18th century muskets are protected, the Court said “the Second Amendment extends, prima facie, to all instruments that constitute bearable arms.”

The Court previously recognized that the Second Amendment protects an individual right in U.S. v. Cruikshank (1876), Presser v. Illinois (1886), U.S. v. Miller (1939) and U.S. v. VerdugoUrquidez (1990).

McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010)

In McDonald, NRA argued before the U.S. Supreme Court that the Second Amendment protects the fundamental, individual right to keep and bear arms no matter in which city or state one resides. The Court held that the Second Amendment applies to state and local governments through the Fourteenth Amendment and that handgun bans, like those in the

City of Chicago and the Village of Oak Park, IL are unconstitutional under any standard of judicial review. This view was shared by a bipartisan group of 309 members of Congress from both chambers, 38 state attorneys general and the majority of the American people.

What’s Next?

Today, courts all over the country are exploring new frontiers for Second Amendment rights—and anti-gun activists are trying to render the Heller and McDonald decisions meaningless. Among the issues being debated today are the right to carry firearms outside the home, the right of adults age 18 and older to purchase handguns from dealers, “assault weapon” bans and more. For the latest Second Amendment legal news, go to www.nraila.org/legalupdate

ARMING U WITH FACTS

TOP GUN CONTROL MYTHS We’ve heard them all before - myths circulated by anti-gunners. Arm yourself with the facts!

MYTH: MORE GUNS MEANS MORE CRIME FACT: That’s what gun control supporters have claimed for decades, but in the last 20 years, Americans have acquired 120 million more firearms (bringing the number that they own to an all-time high), the number of Right-to-Carry states has risen to 41 (also an all-time high), and the nation’s murder rate has decreased 52 percent to nearly the lowest point in U.S. history. The number of Americans’ guns is rising at an unprecedented rate. In the first three months after President Barack Obama’s reelection, and announcement that gun control would be a “central issue” of his final term in office, gun sales were 53 percent higher than during the same three months the previous year. The guns that Americans are buying in the greatest numbers are those that are most popular for self-defense: semiautomatic handguns and rifles that use magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition—the very guns and magazines that gun control supporters most want to see banned.

FEDERAL “ASSAULT WEAPON” BANS Semi-automatic firearms were introduced over a century ago, and today account for about one of every seven privately-owned firearms in the United States. Contrary to what gun control supporters and some in the media have tried to convince the public to believe, semi-automatic firearms are not fullyautomatic “machine guns”; they instead fire only one shot when the trigger is pulled—like revolvers, bolt-actions, lever-actions, pump-actions, doublebarrels and other types of firearms.

THE FACTS:

•

According to the FBI (‘11), rifles of any sort are used in far fewer murders than knives, blunt objects, hands/feet.

•

The study that Congress required of the federal 1994 “assault weapon” ban concluded that “the banned weapons and magazines were never used in more than a modest fraction of all gun murders” before the ban”.

•

State and local law enforcement agencies reported very low percentages of crimes involving “assault weapons,“ prior to the federal ban’s imposition.

MYTH: PROHIBITING PRIVATE FIREARM TRANSACTIONS WOULD REDUCE CRIME FACT: For decades, most criminals have acquired their guns through theft and black market transactions. Since 1998, federal law has required every firearm dealer to conduct a background check on every gun purchaser, regardless of where the sale takes place. Criminals now hire straw purchasers (people who can pass background checks) to buy guns for them. President Obama got “two Pinnochios” from the Washington Post for repeating gun control supporters’ claim that 40 percent of firearm transactions (sales, gifts, trades, etc.) do not go through a background check. The vast majority of non-dealer firearm transactions take place between family members, friends, and other acquaintances; only a small percentage takes place between strangers. Gun control supporters have said that they want guns confiscated from the American people, but that guns must first be registered. They have proposed in Congress that the FBI retain records of people that pass background checks to buy guns. Now they propose that all exchanges of firearms go through a background check, the first step toward registering all firearm sales in America.

MYTH: BANNING “ASSAULT WEAPONS” AND “LARGE” MAGAZINES WOULD REDUCE CRIME FACT: Banning them would be unconstitutional. Semi-automatic rifles, pistols and shotguns account for roughly half of the firearms that Americans have acquired over the last 20 years for self-defense, hunting, and target shooting. Rifle and pistol magazines that hold more than 10 rounds are preferred for self-defense, the core purpose of the Second Amendment. Tens of millions of Americans own these firearms and magazines, thus meeting the “common use” standard discussed by the Supreme Court in Heller. A ban would not reduce crime. The congressionally-mandated study of the federal “assault weapon” and “large” magazine ban of 1994 concluded that “the banned weapons and magazines were never involved in more than a modest fraction of all gun murders.” A follow-up study said “we cannot clearly credit the ban with any of the nation’s recent drop in gun violence” and “assailants fire less than four shots on average.” More people are murdered with knives, more are beaten or kicked to death, and more are killed with bludgeons, than with “assault weapons.” The official report on the mass shooting at Virginia Tech, which was carried out with handguns, concluded that a 10-round magazine limit “would have not made much difference.”

Additional information and citations can be found at www.nraila.org

DID U

From 1943 to 1984, newspapers used the slang term “assault weapon” to describe baseball bats, airplanes, snow plows, cobblestones, rocket launchers and other dissimilar objects.

Gun control supporters began calling various semi-automatic rifles “assault weapons” in the 1980s, decades after many of the rifles had become popular.

KNOW?

ARMING U TO WIN

KEYS TO NRA’S SUCCESS

According to a 2001 Fortune survey, lawmakers and congressional staffers considered NRA the most influential lobbying group. Bill Clinton credited NRA with single-handedly defeating his anti-gun cohorts in several elections, including Al Gore’s 2000 Presidential loss. But what is it that makes NRA a political powerhouse? NRA is successful because of our members. NRA members are some of the most passionate and active voters in the nation. They know how important it is to vote for pro-gun, NRA-PVF endorsed candidates; and they not only vote in droves, but actively volunteer for campaigns and call and write their legislators.

We are depending on you to carry on this legacy! The future of the Second Amendment is in your hands! Here is what you can do to help.

ACTIVISM IS ABOUT ACTION - START TODAY! Educate •

Educate yourself and others using www.nraila.org

TRIGGER THE VOTE

Organize •

Organize a pro-Second Amendmentgroup on campus

Mobilize • • •

Plan activities on campus Volunteer for pro-gun candidate campaigns Contact your legislators

Need ideas or materials? Interested in doing more? Contact NRA-ILA Grassroots ILAcontact@nrahq.org

YOUR GUIDE TO GETTING STARTED ON YOUR CAMPUS 2. ORGANIZE EVENTS 1. ORGANIZE A GROUP - Start a Second Amendment Group • • • • • • •

Contact student affairs for requirements Recruit Brainstorm: What will work on your campus?

How will you secure funding for events?

Get organized - officers, meeting times?

Create a Facebook page, Twitter, Blog Educate members: www.nraila.org Need materials? Contact us!

Here are just a few ideas.

Remember creativity is key!

•

Second Amendment week- A whole week of Second Amendment-themed events each day Host firearm classes for students and faculty Invite pro-gun candidates to campus Voter registration drive Sporting events - host a tailgate, pass out pro-gun candidates’ campaign literature; make it fun!

• • • •

- Start a sub-group of an existing group on campus

3. MOBILIZE - VOLUNTEER FOR A

PRO-GUN CANDIDATE’S CAMPAIGN The key to NRA success is electing pro-gun candidates to office. You can find NRA-PVF grades and endorsements at www.nrapvf.org Contact NRA-endorsed candidates to volunteer for their campaign. Here is a list of typical campaign activities: • Phone Banks • Literature Drops • Yard Signs • Rallies Can you organize these events on your campus?

NRA-ILA might have a Campaign Field Representative working to elect pro-gun candidates in your area!

Contact us at 1-800-392-VOTE (8683) for more information.

It is vital that Second Amendment supporters and gun owners vote for pro-gun candidates! We hear every excuse for why people don’t vote, including that their vote doesn’t count. But we know that every vote does count! In the 2000 presidential election, a mere 537 votes decided the outcome.

We need your vote and we need you to encourage all pro-gun people around you to vote.

4. MOBILIZE - CONTACT YOUR LAWMAKERS! It’s not over after Election Day! We depend on gun owners to contact their lawmakers in support of pro-gun legislation and against anti-gun legislation.

Persuade them by making phone calls, writing e-mails and letters to the editor, visting their offices in person, and attending town hall meetings.

• • • •

TIPS FOR CONTACTING YOUR LAWMAKER

Always identify yourself as a voting constituent, NRA member, & student Reference single issue and specific bill number How does this legislation affect you?

Request written response from lawmaker

www.triggerthevote.org Use our NRA-PVF website to find candidate ratings and endorsements.

www.nrapvf.org

DID U KNOW? NRA-ILA accepts rolling applications for internships with the NRA-ILA Grassroots Division for qualified individuals interested in NRA’s legislative and political activities on behalf of the Second Amendment. For more information, or to send a cover letter and resume for consideration, please e-mail NRAU@nrahq.org.

NRA-ILA Grassroots - www.NRAILA.org - www.NRAPVF.org - 1-800-392-VOTE (8683) - NRAU@nrahq.org